Yemen's government and its Saudi and Emirati backers are accusing the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah) of refusing to abide by a deal agreed two weeks ago on redeploying forces away from Red Sea ports, according to a letter seen by AFP on Tuesday (March 5th).
The Houthis agreed to pull back their forces from the ports of Saleef and Ras Issa during February 17th talks that marked the first concrete step towards de-escalation in the war.
The Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia and the UAE urged the UN Security Council to demand that the Houthis uphold their commitments, according to the letter sent Monday to the council and to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"Last week's sudden and unexplained refusal by the Houthis to withdraw from the ports of Saleef and Ras Issa comes as no surprise after months of stalling tactics from their side," said the letter signed by the three UN ambassadors.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said discussions were continuing with both sides to try to get them to deliver on their commitments and pull back their forces from the ports.
The Security Council is due to discuss Yemen on March 19th amid concerns that the fragile truce agreement may be unraveling.
